


Strawberry Mango Milk

by PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)



Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kindergarten teacher Takumi, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle Sukai, no beta we die like real men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29655003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus
Summary: Takumi is pretty happy with his job as a kindergarten teacher, but one day he meets the handsome uncle of one the preschoolers...
Relationships: Kawanishi Takumi/Kinjo Sukai
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	Strawberry Mango Milk

If Takumi had to choose his future path again, he would choose the profession as a kindergarten teacher over and over.  
After having to give up his future baseball career due an injury, the kids had managed to make him happy again. At first, he hadn’t expected that this job would suit him and only took it until he would find something better, but eventually he realised there was nothing better. He had no boss that made him work insane shifts and he could avoid the crowded commuter trains. The pay wasn't bad either and he could play with the kids all day.

Also, it was impossible not to become happy when you were greeted by 12 lively pre-schoolers and their happy smiles each day. Their parents also seemed to be good but busy people, so there was barely something to complain about. It was pretty much the ideal job for him even when each day was slightly chaotic on its own. 

“Shunya, please give Yugo his duck back. No Rian, you don’t have to join their fight, too.” This day wasn’t safe from the chaos either, but it was about to end soon anyway. More and more parents came to pick their children. However, when he was just done pacifying the three kids, another one tucked his sleeve. “Is there something, Sora? Your mother is late, isn’t she?”

“Yes, but she won’t come today. Suchan picks me up today.” The young child told him. The teacher couldn’t remember the manager telling him about this, but the kid seems to know, so he hoped it would be fine.  
“Okay, thank you for telling me.” But the little girl still held on his sleeve. “Is there something else?”  
“When Suchan picks me up, I want you to meet him.” 

“Sora, what did you learn? What do we say if we want something?” Especially because of his sports background in which manners mattered the most, Takumi always made sure that the children would use the proper greetings and a polite language. The parents also seemed thankful for this.

“Sorry. Can you please meet Suchan when he picks me up later?”  
“That’s much better. But why should I meet him?” It wasn’t something unusual that the kids had some surprising requests or questions, but it was indeed rare that a child asked him to meet any of their relatives. Usually, the relatives asked him to meet them because they wanted to know who takes care of their little ones.  
“Because I think you would like him.” 

This was indeed surprising, but the smile Sora showed wasn’t one that gave any hint that the child was messing with him. It was rather that she truly seemed to believe that. “Is that so?”  
“Yeees.” Before he could ask any more questions, the girl let go of him and started to play with her friends. 

However, Suchan, whoever he was, didn’t seem like the most punctual person. Eventually, Sora was the last child left and Takumi was starting to worry whether he would really come, but right in the minute when he wanted to phone call Sora’s mother, a guy who was about his age arrived that the kindergarten. When Sora spotted him, her face lit up and run towards him. “Suuuchan!” 

Takumi followed her and when he got closer to the other one, he could see that the two must be related. Just like Sora, the guy also had fox-like eyes. “Hello Sora. Sorry for letting you wait. Work was busy.” The other one’s voice was deeper than Takumi had expected but somehow it sounded handsome.

The newly arrived one hugged the child before letting her go, so she could pick up her things. “I’m deeply sorry for letting you wait so long. I’m Kinjo Sukai, the younger brother of Sora’s mother. She just started a new job today, so she will be busy and I will pick up Sora all week long.”  
The way Sukai apologised to him reminded Takumi of how martial artists spoke for some reason. However, this was something good. Martial artists usually had good manners which meant that he was no bad company for the child- besides being late- and could protect her in case something happens. 

Still, for some reason Takumi couldn’t stop looking at Sukai. Not only his voice was handsome but also his face, too. The brown hair and his sharp features radiated a manly charm, but judging from his introduction they must be about the same age. Sora’s mother was a young mother, but she was older than him by a few years. “Ah this can happen. But please make sure to be on time tomorrow. I’m-” Yet he wasn’t able to finish his own introduction because Sora returned and took over.

“Suchan, that’s Takuchan-sensei!” Most of the time Takumi was fine that the children called him with the nickname ‘Takuchan’ instead of ‘Takumi-sensei’ like they should actually call him. They were still children and children liked such affectionate nicknames.

“Ah so you are the legendary Takuchan, Sora likes so much? Thank you for always taking care of my niece.” Yet, in this moment, it was super embarrassing to be called like that. Parents or any other relatives and especially not handsome guys like the one in front of him were supposed to call him Takuchan.  
“Ah, it’s actually just my job. And-” 

To Takumi’s bad luck, little Sora seemed super excited that the meeting she had hoped for truly happened. “Takuchan-sensei, you like Suchan, right?”  
“What? No! Eh, why are you asking this?” The situation became more awkward every second and there was no way Takumi could flee for it.  
“Because your face is read, in movies people always have a red face when they meet someone they like.” 

And that was the moment Takumi wanted to die of shame. “Sora, you shouldn’t believe what you see in TV.” was the best comeback that his panicking mind let him say.  
“So, you don’t like Suchan?” The way the girl spoke sounded sad and in turn the teacher started to feel bad. He didn't want her to be sad, he just wanted to escape the tricky situation.  
Luckily, Sukai seemed to be on his side. 

“We have just met. We don’t know each other well, so Takuchan can’t answer that yet.” Actually, his words didn't make the situation much better for Takumi, because Sukai using the nickname again made his heart flutter. “We have to go home now. Sora needs to bath before dinner. Say goodbye, Sora.”  
“Bye bye Takuchan-sensei.” The little girl climbed on the shoulder of her uncle and happily waved at him.  
“I promise that I will come sooner tomorrow. Goodbye Takuchan.” 

“Goodbye.” They finally left but it took a minute for Takumi to realise that the whole time, he hadn’t been able to introduce himself properly and that a handsome guy kept calling him Takuchan. To add to his misery, he would see him all week and there was no way he couldn’t escape any more embarrassment. 

After he returned home and had time to sort out his thoughts, there was a part inside of him prominent which was angry at himself.  
He should have acted more professional in that moment. Going crazy because of a handsome relative from one of his children was far from being professional. He had to act better the next day. 

Yet, it was an undeniable fact that Sukai was handsome. Maybe the last date Takumi went to had been far too long ago, but Sukai’s voice, his face and his proportions... This guy could work as a model or actor. He was far too handsome not to be seen. 

The next morning, Sora was super excited when she came into the kindergarten. Her mother brought her before she had to go to work and for a moment Takumi wondered whether he should mention what had happened the day before, but then other kids called for his attention.  
Yasu had dropped his gundam toy and one of the arms seemed to have broken off. Fortunately, it was a problem that could be fixed easily - if the crying child let him.

By the afternoon, Takumi had nearly forgotten about the moment he had dreaded earlier, but when Sukai arrived at the kindergarten – today he was perfectly on time – his heart started to beat faster again. Also on this day, Sora made sure that her teacher would meet her uncle alone and unfortunately, there were no other kids asking for his attention in that moment.  
“I see you are on time today.”  
“Yes, I left the construction side earlier, so I can avoid the rush hour.” Sukai was a construction worker? That was surprising in a way. He didn't look like one.

“I see. I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself properly yesterday. My name is Kawanishi Takumi and I’m the teacher for Sora’s class.”  
“So, you are not named Takuchan?”  
“That’s a nickname the kids have given me. They seemed to like it, so I couldn’t say no to it.” Finally, he had been able to clear this part up. He felt like a stone had dropped from his heart, yet he was still a little nervous around the other one.  
“Too bad, that name fits you.” 

That hit right in the bull’s eyes. The way Sukai said that nonchalantly together with a smirk on his face was deadly and Takumi could swear that he stopped breathing for a moment. “Th-That’s what the kids said, too.”  
Sora returned with her things and looked at him with big eyes. “You are red again, Takuchan-sensei. Do you like Suchan now?” 

This time his saviour proved to be Yugo’s father who came to pick up his son right in that moment. “Sorry. I, eh, am busy.”  
“We have to leave now, too. We wanted to cook dinner before mom comes home, right Sora? Say goodbye to your favourite Takuchan-sensei." Once more Sukai used that nickname and once more it still had some effect on him. His heart took a leap again and the awkwardness returned.  
“Bye Bye.” Sora, meanwhile, seemed totally unaware and happily waved goodbye.  
“Goodbye, see you tomorrow.”  
Never before Takumi had been that glad when a child and their family left.

After the dilemma from the first two days, Takumi hoped to avoid Sukai, but it was a policy that the teachers said goodbye to the children at the end of the day. Hence, he had to meet the other one each day and most likely go through another wave of confusion each day. He didn't want to loose his job just because a guy was flirting with him and his clumsy self reacted to that.

To his luck, the next two days Sukai happened to arrive at the same time as other parents. Having to watch two kids picking up everything and listen to the questions of another party made him pay less attention to the brown haired one. After those two lucky outcomes Takumi didn’t fear Friday anymore. It was the last day Sukai would pick up Sora, so it was the last day anything awkward could happen and there was a whole weekend to recover from it afterwards.  
Yet Kinjo Sukai wouldn’t be Kinjo Sukai if that guy couldn't shock him anyway. 

Everything seemed to go well in the beginning. Sukai was on time, Sora was a little sad that she wouldn’t see her friends and both adults did their best to console her. When she was finally ready to gather her things, Takumi was alone with Sukai. He wasn’t sure whether he should talk to the other one or just hope that the girl comes back soon.  
“Do you have time on the weekend?”, Sukai suddenly asked him.  
“What?”  
“Well, Sora keeps mentioning that you like me and I’m not a parent, so it shouldn’t be against any rules.” 

The question was surprising and his professional side wanted to say, but Sukai was right. It wasn’t against any rules and in a way, Takumi wanted to get to know him further. “Okay.”  
“Awesome. Should we meet at the café across the street? Tomorrow afternoon?”  
“Sounds good.” It did sound good, but somehow Takumi was surprised about himself. He never agreed on a date so fast.  
“Great. See you tomorrow, Takuchan.” The taller one gave him a note with his phone number in case anything happened.

In the meantime, Takumi hadn't even notice that Sora had returned and already climbed on the shoulders of her uncle - he had been too focused on the uncle himself.  
Only when they left, he returned to reality. “Oh no...” It was too late to cancel now without turning everything into an even worse embarrassment. Yet Sukai had some undeniable effect on him. This was probably the reason why he felt so awkward after each meeting with him. He wasn’t used to people flirt with him anymore. Actually, people never really flirted with him. But after stopping with baseball, he had lost the last bit of his popularity. 

And Sukai was handsome. He had noticed that from the very beginning. He seemed to be kind and well-mannered, too, and Sora adored her uncle. Kids usually had a good judgement of people’s personalities. It was worth a shot – even if it turned out embarrassing in the end. 

The next day, Takumi was at the café far earlier than he had to be. He had been nervous since morning and even cleaning his apartment hadn’t helped much to distract him. It was his first date in years, so it was natural to be fussy, wasn’t it? 

What helped to calm his nerves a little was that Sukai at least was on time. The other one wore black skinny jeans and a black shirt – the outfit was simple but underlined his good looking features once more. “Hey, I hope you are not waiting too long.”  
“No, not at all.” I was waiting for quite some time, but that had been his own fault. 

Together they went inside the café. Besides that it was weekend, they easily found a nice spot where they could talk in peace.  
“Is there anything you can recommend?” Sukai asked.  
“Surprisingly, I have no idea. I might work close, but I never went here.” Usually, Takumi went home straight after work and that’s where he stayed until Monday morning unless he needed to buy some things – which was also most likely the reason why he never had any dates. 

“Oh okay. Then let’s find something together. What do you like?”  
“Hm... since it’s a café, Strawberry milk?” He had no idea whether the café even served that.  
“This fits you somehow. It’s sweet like you.” Sukai truly had a talent for compliments because they never failed to miss their target.  
“Stop that... What do you like?”  
“Mango smoothies.” 

There was sadly no witty comeback Takumi could make from that. “Well, let’s find out whether they have any of our favourite drinks. Should we order together?”  
“Sure.”  
Right behind the counter there was a huge board that listed all the drinks that the café offered. To their surprise none of their favourite drinks were listed individually but there was something else – Strawberry Mango Milk.  
“Let’s order this.” It felt like a sign from destiny that this drink was available. It was an unlikely combination but it was worth a try – similar to Sukai and him. 

However, Sukai didn’t seem so happy about it. “I don’t like milk...”  
“It’s a family thing, right? Sora also dislikes milk.” It was always had a hard time to make the girl eat something when milk was involved, but Takumi had his tricks for this.  
“I guess so.”  
“Believe me when I say, you won’t taste it. The fruits are more dominant.”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Give it a try.” This usually worked with the kids. First, they complained but after giving it a try, they loved it. The same thing often applied to adults, too. 

Soon they returned to their table with the Strawberry and Mango drink and a piece of cheesecake.  
By now Takumi felt more at ease around the other one. Sure, he was still a little nervous, but he got used to the presence of him in a way. “Tell me more about you. You said you work at a construction site?” Still, Takumi wasn’t the best talker, but this felt like a good start.  
“Yes... I don’t know how much you teachers know about our family situation, but I try to help my mother and my sister where I can, so I took that job.” The way Sukai talked in that moment made Takumi discouraged again. He had instinctively picked the wrong topic.  
Indeed he knew a bit of their family’s situation, but he wasn’t the one to judge it. As long as the child was happy and healthy, it wasn’t his business anyway. “It’s sweet of you that you try to help them. Sora seems to adore you.” 

“She does. She is a little sunshine.” It was obvious that Sukai adored his niece equally. “How did you become a kindergarten teacher?”  
“I wanted to become a pro baseball player, but an injury made it impossible. I always liked to work with kids like teaching my juniors, so someone suggested me to do an internship and I stayed afterwards.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry that it happened. Does that injury still bother you?”  
“Yes, it still hurts from time to time.” 

The atmosphere had turned a little heavy at that moment and Takumi wondered if such unpleasant topics were even appropriate for a first date. Insecurely he started to nip on his drink and he saw Sukai doing the same. Suddenly, the other one’s eyes lit up. “You were right.”  
“Told you.” In that moment the mood became much lighter again and the anxiety inside of Takumi also faded. Maybe he had done something right ealier.

“Takuchan is really as smart as my niece told me.”  
“Stop calling me like that.” Once more Takumi felt his face heat up because Sukai had used that nickname. There was a reason why only kids were allowed to call him like that.  
“But you always cutely blush when I use it.”  
Of course, the other one had noticed it. Anew Takumi felt embarrassed. “That shouldn’t happen.” 

“But it does.” The smirk Sukai had felt dangerous in a way, like a hunter would smile when he got his victim trapped. “How else should I call you?”  
“Just Takumi is fine.”  
“But that’s boring.”  
“Then think of something.” There were other nicknames for him, but Takumi wanted to give his date a challenge. Making things easy was also something boring. 

“Now?”  
“It doesn’t have to be now. Think of something and tell me it whenever you like.”  
“Does it mean we will see each other again?” 

It was too soon to decide on a next date, but so far there was no reason why there shouldn’t be another one. He got along with Sukai and liked his presence. It didn’t make him as crazy as during the previous days anymore. The atmosphere was much more relaxed and they didn’t have to watch out for a preschooler calling them out.  
Also, even if they didn’t decide on a second date on this day, Takumi was sure that sooner or later they would see each other at the kindergarten again, because Sukai had to pick up his niece. “Sure.” 

“You like me that much? It must have been love at the first sight for you.”  
“I didn’t say that!” This guy was a teaser and for a moment Takumi regretted his direct answer.  
Indeed, he couldn’t say whether he was in love. He liked the visuals of the other one and his heart beat faster when he saw him, so you could call it a crush. But crushes were something fickle and could disappear as fast as they appeared. 

“I’m just joking, don’t worry.”  
“You seem to enjoy such jokes.”  
“Those and a few more. I like to watch people reacting to those.”  
“That’s mean.”  
“Maybe a little.” Sukai was grinning happily and Takumi couldn’t really be angry at him. That grin had something cute in it. “Anyway, if I don’t annoy you too much today, I think I want to see you again, too.”  
“Let’s get to know each other better to find out.” 

The time they talked about everything and nothing passed in a blink of an eye. They were close in age with Sukai being a year younger than Takumi, they were both interested in movies and sports and generally speaking they got along. Yet when Sukai mentioned that he liked to play pranks, Takumi got a little fearful. “If you ever prank me, you are dead.”  
“I have a black belt in Karate. You have no chance.”  
“And I’m a kindergarten teacher. I know how to clean up very messy things.”  
“Nah I’m still not afraid.”  
It was another playful exchange between them which made both of them laugh. 

Speaking of laughing, Takumi couldn’t remember the last time, he laughed that much with someone else. Maybe he really should leave the house more often and meet people. It felt better than he expected. But it was easier said than done. 

Soon it became dark outside and the two decided to leave the café. It felt like it was time to part, but Takumi didn’t really know what to say at that moment. “So... Eh... It was fun today.”  
“Thanks for convincing me to try that drink. I think I found a new favourite one.”  
“No problem.”  
All of sudden Sukai came closer to him until he was so close that Takumi only would have needed to lean a little closer to kiss him. Yet he was frozen. Should he do it? Or not? 

But then Sukai grinned at him. “You should see your face right now.” Instead of a kiss, the taller one hugged him.  
“You are mean.” It was a little childish action, but Takumi couldn’t help but hit the back of the other one lightly before also hugging him.  
“Your face was worth it.” Sukai was still grinning when they parted. “Anyway, how about we go to the cinema next weekend? The movie we talked about earlier?”  
“Sure. Why not?” Besides all the teasing, Takumi had enjoyed the day with the younger one and wanted to see him again. After the initial awkwardness had passed, he felt light around him. Having a crush was a nice change of pace in his life. 

“Until then I will think of a nickname for you, Takuchan.”  
“Don’t call me Takuchan.”  
But Sukai only chuckled at the reply before hugging him again. “Maybe you will also get the kiss you wish for next week, too.”  
“Who said I wanted to kiss you?”  
“Your face.” 

“Go away Suchan.” Flustered he pushed the other one away.  
“No, you can’t call me Suchan. Only my family can call me like that and you are not a part of it yet.”  
“Yet? You sound pretty confident that it’s going to change.”  
“Because I am confident that it will happen.”  
Takumi had no idea in which direction his crush would eventually lead him. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy the feeling and the presence of the other one. “We will see.”  
“Maybe already next week.” 

Now it was truly time to part for the two of them. In a way Takumi wanted to convey that he had liked the day so far, but Sukai had been a little too cocky for his taste. “I will see you at the cinema next week.”  
“I can’t wait.”  
Takumi couldn’t wait either for the day, yet he just smiled at the other one before waiving at him and turning home. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Sukai was a little dumbfounded in the first moment, before he grinned and made his way home, too. 

A week was quite some time, but maybe Takumi would shorten it by buying some Strawberry Mango Milk after work sometime this week. The drink was good just like the date he just had with Sukai.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> I'm back with Skyberry and I finally finished one of my WIPs haha  
> I don't know why but I have a bunch of WIP that I can't finish somehow but I try to do my best.  
> But I actually like the prompts for all of them so I want to finish them orz  
> (author struggles)  
> Well, I hope you enjoyed it!  
> See you~


End file.
